Palm oil developers push into Indonesia's last frontier: Papua
Palm oil is a highly coveted natural resource: it is a major ingredient in many everyday foods and functions as biofuel (Wikipedia, Palm Oil). Because of this, developers are always looking for large undeveloped tracts of land in warmer climates on which to create palm plantations. Many fragile ecosystems in tropical regions are quickly being converted into palm plantations. This article focuses on Papua and West Papua, the two regions which comprise the western half of New Guinea (Wikipedia, New Guinea). Many would argue that New Guinea possesses some of the world's most unusual and fascinating animals, which makes the issue that more critical to nature-lovers.
The article focuses on "Up for Grabs," a report which summarizes an investigation of the conversion of Papuan land into palm plantations; it goes into detail of just exactly how palm oil companies are making this a reality. In many cases, their methods are what some would consider drastic, or even unethical. For example, one company had a local child unknowingly sign his family's land over to the developers for decades. Many farmers are being paid "below market rates" for their land, which will generate an exceptionally high amount of revenue for developers compared to what they originally paid for it. Some farmers were led to believe development would improve their general welfare, but the promised benefits (schooling, housing, transportation) were never delivered. Other developers began clearing land before obtaining appropriate permits to do so. The report urges the suspension of palm oil permits until more sustainable methods of development are implemented.
In a related article, "Cheerios maker linked to rainforest destruction", I learned that palm oil is a common ingredient found in several everyday foods (Cheerios, Betty Crocker, etc.) and many are protesting General Mills' usage of non-sustainable palm oil. Apparently mass rainforest destruction in Indonesia (and I'm assuming elsewhere) is caused by palm oil plantations; not only is biodiversity being lost to this industry, but it creates harmful greenhouse emissions as well. Fortunately for the local wildlife, some companies are now starting to only harvest sustainably-grown palm oil. This is another example of how our everyday activities are affecting resources in a completely different part of the world, but the word seems to be out and progress is being made which benefits everyone from the U.S. consumers to the Papuan farmers.
Personally I would like to see more ethical practices carried out in the industry, perhaps a co-op where local farmers are put in charge of the harvesting (providing them with jobs) or sustainable farms (which benefit the local biodiversity). Southeast Asia, Indonesia and New Guinea harbor some fantastic species - orangutans, elephants, rhinos, birds of paradise, parrots, tree kangaroos - and it would be tragic to lose them to unnecessary extinction.
Tim Carney
